ABSTRACT ? PILOT and EXPLORATORY STUDIES CORE (PESC) In recent years, major advances have been made in our understanding of the basic biology of aging, leading to the identification of novel interventions with the potential for prolonging healthspan (the period of life free of serious disease) and lifespan in model organisms (yeast, nematodes, Drosophila, and mice). To date, however, there has been a lack of programs and infrastructure to enable investigators to translate these exciting discoveries made with model animal systems to humans. The major objective of the Pilot / Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) is to promote the overarching goals of the proposed Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) to develop and validate interventions to enhance healthy aging and mitigate or slow the progression of adverse aging- associated processes and diseases. Indeed, the PESC plays a key role in the San Antonio OAIC?s strategy of developing the infrastructure for translating these discoveries to pre-clinical studies and ultimately to human trials. The PESC will provide merit-based support for rigorously designed pilot studies that test the efficacy, as well as side effect profiles, of promising pharmacological and non-pharmacological cell-based (e.g., stem cells, gene therapy) interventions in the pre-clinical marmoset model and early human clinical studies. Through the OAIC funds as well as leveraged support from several UTHSCSA sources, the PESC will be able to support up to five full projects, each with a budget of up to $50K per year, as well as one or two smaller (e.g., $10-20K) exploratory projects annually. It is the aim of the PESC Core leaders to provide close oversight and assistance to these PESC-supported studies from inception, during the investigative and interpretative phases of the study, and through publication, as well as to ultimately encourage and guide the investigators to obtain additional funding. In particular, the PESC will strive to achieve its objectives through the following four specific aims: 1) To promote innovative, collaborative, multidisciplinary, pre-clinical and clinical research on interventions designed to impact favorably upon healthy aging and lifespan; 2) To provide financial and infrastructure support for competitive pilot proposals from both established researchers and junior faculty investigators; 3) To encourage pilot studies that will develop and apply innovative methods and technologies; and 4) To implement an effective process to solicit, review, and fund pilot projects, and then to ensure project completion, maximal dissemination, and downstream funding of larger projects. Via these pilot and exploratory studies, we seek to promote the San Antonio OAIC goals of developing interventions that improve the health, quality of life, and independence of older Americans.